Category: TV Dramas (Page 187 of 235)

“Drive” cancelled: The Minear/Fillion curse strikes again

April 25, 2007 /

Admit it. We all knew it was coming, but did you all think it would happen so soon?

Drive

According to sources at TV Guide, FOX’s new drama, “Drive,” has been prematurely cancelled after airing only four of its thirteen season one episodes. Centered around an illegal, cross-country car race, the show got off to a great start during its two-hour premiere and hasn’t slowed down yet. The premise alone is promising enough for anyone who enjoyed the first season of “Prison Break,” so its surprising to see that not as many people tuned in. Of course, rumor is that many were turned off by the fact that they knew FOX would cancel it, and so they didn’t want to engulf themselves in yet another television history where they would never see the conclusion.

The future of the show didn’t look good as soon as word got out that “Firefly” star Nathan Fillion was teaming up with show’s co-creator Tim Minear for a new series, but we all figured that FOX had learned its lesson the first time around. Both Minear and Fillion are very talented people, so it sucks to see yet another collaboration between the two flushed away so quickly. Is two weeks (three episodes aired in the first week alone) literally all the time a network can afford for a new show to find an audience, because if so, they aren’t going to have enough shows to fill the voids come pilot season.

With “Family Guy” not quite as great as it used to be and “24” experiencing the worst season of its six-year history, what else does FOX have to compete with the other networks? Not much, which makes the cancellation of “Drive” all that more disappointing. And to think I was debating blogging this show…

Oh well, I guess we have the DVD to look forward to, and if we’re lucky, maybe Universal will buy the rights and make a movie like they did with “Serenity.” Wishful thinking? Probably, but it could happen.

External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Heroes, Week 19: The (Point-Oh-)Seven Percent Solution

April 23, 2007 /

I’d love to say that time has flown since the last new “Heroes” episode, but who am I trying to kid? I’ve been waiting for this with bated breath. Basically, what I’m saying is that every Monday night since March 4th has been a waste of time. Finally, however, Mondays are worth living for again…well, for the next five weeks, anyway. And although the episode-beginning conversation between HRG and Eric Roberts was a little too melodramatic for my tastes, just about everything else within this week’s “Heroes” was spot-on.

The deceptively casual nature of the chat between Nathan and Mr. Linderman belied just how serious the discussion was. Mr. Linderman’s power to create life from lifelessness seems to arguably be one of the most powerful of all; how ironic, then, that it should be in the hands of the man who seems to be the most ethically…or, at least, morally…challenged. (It’s amazing how chilling the phrase “acceptable losses” can be when uttered in a certain context.) Linderman’s interest in Micah can’t be a good thing…and it’s clear that Nikica agrees. I wouldn’t want to be in that shapeshifter’s shoes when Miss Split Personality gets a hold of her.

The escape orchestrated by HRG with Matt and Ted was inspired, with HRG relaying instructions to Matt, who was clearly wayyyyyy out of his intellectual depth. And I wasn’t paying close enough attention, I admit it, but…was the diner where they were grabbing a meal the same one where Charlie used to work?

The battle between Peter vs. Sylar was short but sufficiently harsh. Gosh, it sure was nice of Mohinder to deliver Peter’s dead body to his mother, wasn’t it? There wasn’t much in the way of real suspense with the whole Peter-is-dead bit, of course, but when Nathan started crying, all I could think was, “If his tears are real, they ain’t for his brother; they’re because he just lost the Presidency.” Am I cynical? I don’t think so. But back to Peter. Didn’t you love the graphic sound effect when Claire pulled the piece of glass out of his skull.? Nice. And speaking of Claire, her newly discovered grandma sure turned into a hard-ass out of nowhere, didn’t she? I mean, Jesus, in the first episode, she seemed like a woman lost, and now look at her! The conversation between Claire and Nathan, meanwhile, was about as depressing as they come. Thanks, Dad! Good to meet you, too!

Isaac vs. Sylar was kind of a one-sided fight, but it must be said that Sylar’s nailing Isaac to the floor with paintbrushes was grotesquely inspired. The realization that Sylar’s now able to fortell the future, unfortunately, means that the grand finale is going to be particularly nasty.

And as long as we’re talking about finales, Future Hiro showing up only in the last seconds of this episode was just cruel…but at least next week looks like it’s all about the future.

The three best lines of the night:

1) “I know this man.” “Good! If you see him, tell him I want my sword back!” – Nathan and Mr. Linderman, respectively
2) “Oh, my God! You’re middle management!” – Matt Parkman
3) “He’s no longer with the company.” – Thompson

In closing, can I just ask, “NBC, are you effing kidding me? You pulled ‘Studio 60’ for ‘The Real Wedding Crashers’? You can’t find ANYTHING better than this piece of crap to follow ‘Heroes’ with?!?”

External Entertainment, External TV, Heroes, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

“You gotta wonder what’s next.”

April 22, 2007 /

At one point during tonight’s episode, Tony told Beansie that things were going great, but he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Excuse me? Things are going great? Not only are the feds up your ass more than ever, but your brother-in-law beat the snot out of you two weeks ago, you said last week that you thought your cousin wanted you dead, and this week you very nearly dropped one of your oldest, closest friends over the side of a boat. Again. If this is “going great,” I’d hate to see Tony after a bad day.

I’m sure some people will complain about this episode’s apparent lack of action, but think about what’s been accomplished now: Tony had the brawl with Bobby, the backlash from which we still haven’t seen; Tony’s convinced that Chris despises him and Chris thinks Tony’s pissed about his movie; and now Tony apparently thinks Paulie is so much of a liability that he’s giving serious consideration to whacking him. Three episodes in, and Tony’s at odds with three of his guys. If I’m Sil, I’m watching my back.

It was pretty cool to hear some of the stories Tony, Paulie and Beansie were sharing this week, and that picture of young Paulie was awesome. I wasn’t entirely sure what Tony was trying to accomplish on the boat, but it seemed like he kept harping on the joke Ralph told about Johnny Sack’s wife because he was looking for a reason to off Paulie. When Paulie flat-out denied that he told Johnny about the joke, T thought about going through with it anyway before deciding to chuck a bottle of beer at him instead. Still, judging by what Tony told Beansie and by how annoyed Tony seems to be with Paulie these days, it certainly seems like Paulie’s living on borrowed time.

Fortunately, the potential problem with the Willie Overalls killing from 1982 (apparently Tony’s first) blew over, but after Sil told T the good news, he said, “You gotta wonder what’s next.” Maybe it’s not the most optimistic outlook, but it definitely seems to be a realistic one. The feds may not be able to pin Willie Overalls on Tony, but that won’t stop them from digging up something else on him.

Speaking of which, did anybody else think the girl Tony hooked up with was asking too many questions? Seems if you’re “laying low,” as Tony told Paulie earlier in the episode, you use your aliases even around the ladies. The blonde Tony slept with seemed awful interested in the people at the table the night before, and she said something that made it sound like she’d been talking with Paulie too. Something to keep an eye on, maybe.

How great was it to see Junior back in action? Sure, it’s not quite the same now that he’s hopped up on meds in that criminal loony bin, but he’s clearly still a little ‘oobatz.’ That Asian kid that was hanging around Junior was trouble from the get go, and I figured he was going to attack Junior at some point, but I wondered if he would actually kill him. Turns out he just beat Junior up pretty good. How exactly Junior’s arc this week relates to the overall storyline is a bit unclear, though I’m thinking it was a way to show just how far someone of Tony’s stature (and Junior’s before Tony) could eventually fall.

Finally, I guess we should discuss the drama in New York, where the guy who whacked the guy everyone thought was going to take over for Johnny Sack got whacked himself (got all that?). This time, Phil was behind the hit, and for a good reason: you just don’t take food off another guy’s plate. I’ve always known that, but now I know just how dire the consequences can be if you break that rule. Keep your fork to yourself. Lesson learned.

External Entertainment, External TV, The Sopranos, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

Jericho, Episode 19: Whoops, Apocalypse!

April 21, 2007 /

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted…although, honestly, the feedback is so often limited to just one person’s thoughts that I’m thinking maybe John and I should just trade E-mail back and forth about the show. (Loosely translated: even if the show makes it back for Season 2, don’t necessarily hold your breath on the blog returning with it.) Anyway, the reasons for the delay are really just several small, ultimately-unimportant excuses, so I’ll just offer my apologies and say, “Let’s get on with it, then, shall we?”

Well, actually, delay or no delay, this’ll be a short one.

The big action this week involved the boys from Jericho returning from New Bern with windmills…but without Eric. Jake, of course, goes in search of his brother, and he drafts Hawkins to go with him. This gives Hawkins a chance to finally let loose and use the skills he hasn’t had much call for since the bombs dropped; it shocks Jake a bit when Hawkins takes on the deputy, but, dude, you knew his past, you shouldn’t have been that surprised. Johnston and Mary bond a little, Stanley and Mimi fight a little, Skylar tries to declare her parents dead so that she can have control of their farm (and, amazingly, Mr. Mayor manages to make a valid point or two when arguing with her), and, basically, we get the idea that between New Bern and Ravenwood, Jericho’s probably gonna be using that tank they’ve got stashed away sooner than later.

The big bombshell of the week, though, is that Heather is dead. I didn’t really anticipate that.

External Entertainment, External TV, Jericho, TV, TV Dramas

Can we save “Friday Night Lights”?

April 16, 2007 /

Any FNL fans out there? Last fall, I put “Friday Night Lights” on my list of five new shows that must survive the season, and it hasn’t disappointed. Simply stated, it’s one of the best-written and best-acted shows on television. Other than “Heroes,” I can’t think of a new show that’s any better than “Friday Night Lights.” It has struggled at times with its ratings, but it’s up against the “American Idol” juggernaut, so it’s tough to say how the show would do against normal competition.

The ratings have increased as the year has worn on, and CNN has reported that NBC has ordered six new scripts for a second season. This doesn’t mean that the show has been picked up for another year, but it’s a reason to be hopeful.

If you’re interested in watching the show, NBC has decided to stream the entire season on their website and if you’re already a fan, be sure to sign the petition to save the show. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to contribute any money to show your support.) I’m sure the network is keeping track of how many people are watching episodes online (as well as the petition) to get a feel for its potential audience next season, so here’s a case where you can actually help save a wonderful show.

External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas

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